D Unit's Finest
by NyxDragon2023
Summary: Arybella Normith is an aspiring artist orphaned by an accident. When she saves a dark-eyed man from an asassin her world is turned upside down. Can she find a family in her unit while she waits out the danger?
1. Chapter 1

**Well this is my first posted story. Mixed feelings about this but since i've finally built up the nerve i'm posting it. This is an Alex Rider fiction set several years after Crocodile Tears, if Alex makes an appearance he'll be an adult. In no way is this going to be an Alex/OC fic! Unless something changes... which it might...**

**I'll stop before i go off rambling!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that is recognized as Anthony Horrowitz's!!! **

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The girl was sitting cross legged on the lip of a fountain. Her attention seemingly on the sketch pad in her lap as her hand moved at a constant rate. She was drawing a profile of a man that had been sitting on a bench not to far away, apparently just enjoying the nice day. Her long black hair created a curtain, hiding her face from the man. Her clothes were tattered looking, the jeans had holes in the knees and one on her thigh, her black tank-top was solid but had a stiff look to it, her tennis shoes had seen better days but were also still intact. The only jewelry she wore was a chain necklace, the charm hidden beneath her shirt's neckline.

She finished the picture with her signature in the bottom right corner and flipped the book shut as she stood. She stretched, her muscles tight from being bent over for so long, and looked around her. She glanced the time from a passing man's wrist watch and saw how late it was getting. She hesitated briefly before starting off in the direction of where the man was sitting.

She was aware of the man walking in the opposite direction. They would pass in front of the sitting man at almost the same moment. Even before she actually saw the gun she felt adrenaline rush to her heart.

The man raised the gun level to the sitting mans chest in one fluid movement. The teen lunged forward at the same moment, her sole purpose to get her hands on that gun. She hit the mans arm right as he pulled the trigger. Instead of releasing her grip she dragged the man down with her. All of her 110 pounds landed on his arm resulting in a resounding crack as the bone broke. He lost most of the ability to make his gun hand function and the teen ripped the weapon out of his weakened grip and tossed it out of reach before scrambling away from him.

The man was on his feet instantly and advanced on her. She dropped into a battle ready stance and met him with a viciously fast and strong kick to the chest and followed it with several more kicks and punches of which he could only stop a few. The man finally gave and took off at a run. The teen watched him go to make sure he wasn't turning back before turning to where the man had been sitting. When she didn't see him there she turned further and saw him with the gun in one hand and her sketchbook in the other, his dark eyes were watching her every move.

"Those were some pretty advanced moves...?" he left the statement in the air.

"Ary. Ary Normith." she told him calmly as her adrenaline rush started to abandon her. Her sharp silver eyes were going between her sketchbook and the man's face.

"Thank you for your help Miss Normith. Your quiet the little artist. How old are you?" he asked Ary.

"Old enough. Can I have my sketchbook back? I really must be on my way." Ary said insistently as she took a step towards the man.

"Where are your parents? Surely they'd like to hear of this." the man prodded her.

"It's none of your business. Now please give me back my book so I can leave." Ary insisted.

"I don't think you fully understand your situation Miss Normith."

"I understand that I have a place to be and I intend to get there. Keep my book if you must but I'm leaving." Ary said sharply and turned to stalk off only to be met with a powerfully built man. She didn't have to look to know she was surrounded. She glared furiously at the man in front of her.

"This is for your own safety I'm sorry to say. I'll explain more later but for now you need to come with us." the man she had sketched said.

"No." she said flatly. The man must have given a signal, the men started towards her, boxing her in. "I'll fight." she warned them but the men didn't hesitate. In stead of waiting for them to reach her Ary met the first guard she had seen head on and landed a fast punch to the stomach, doubling him over as she turned to her next opponent. She caught him off guard as well with a roundhouse kick to the head that sent him sprawling. The other three proved to be a challenge. They had gotten an idea of what she could do and she lost her advantage of surprise. She held her own against them and managed to keep track of the first two guards but she had forgotten about the man she had sketched.

She tensed as an arm grabbed her from behind and a needle entered the tender skin of her neck. Her vision began to swim as she jerked her head back trying to hit the man in the nose. The man kicked her feet out from under her and before she could retaliate another set of arms grabbed her legs. She struggled but her movements were weakened by effects of the drug she'd been given.

"This is all for your own good Arybella Normith." was all she heard before she blacked out completely.

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**It will become clearer next chapter, promise! and the next chapter will be longer as well. I'm shooting for at least three reads and one review before i post the next chapter so if you do read, please review. I love getting tips and critisism of all types! well, i don't love flames but they work to. I'm about to start rambling again...**


	2. Chapter 2 part 1

**OK, so this is actually the first part of chapter 2, it creates more questions than it answers but please bare with me! the second part will be posted tonight or tomorrow i promise!**

**Thank you soooooo much to my reviewers!! your praise makes my days! :p**

**Disclaimer: i own nothing that is recognizable as Anthony Horowitz's**

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Ary became aware of her surroundings slowly. First was the smell of sterile air as if she were in a hospital. She could hear nothing but her own breathing. She had a coppery taste in her mouth that she could only guess was from the drug she'd been given. Her eyes came into focus slowly and she looked around her.

She was in a small, clean cell. It was perhaps eight by eight feet with only the small white cot she laid on. There were two doorways, one was a solid door, the other an open doorway that led to a small bathroom complete with shower. Her clothes had been replaced with white scrubs and no shoes or socks.

She sat up hesitantly and felt her neck. No mark had been left but the muscle was uncomfortably tense. She ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh and rose to her feet, surprised when she felt a wave of dizziness and plopped back down onto the bed.

"Nice." she grumbled before rising again, more slowly this time. She made her way into the bathroom. She was pleasantly surprised to find her own clothes, freshly washed, waiting for her and everything she would need to wash up. Deciding she would take advantage of this she turned the shower on and began peeling off her white clothes.

She allowed the pounding water to work at the muscle in the side of her neck as she thought over what had happened. She had noticed she was being watched for a few weeks now but nothing had come of it. She had sketched half the people she had noticed following her and now the man had all of those sketches. She scowled at the memory of that man. What was his deal anyway? What right did he have to kidnap her? After she'd saved his ungrateful arse to!

It was then that it sunk in that she had, in fact, been drugged and taken somewhere. She had no idea how long she had been drugged for, it could have been weeks, she could be anywhere in the world now. Panic rose in her chest at these thoughts. She had no family to search for her, she could be trapt in this cell for the rest of her life, however short that may be.

Ary nearly toppled over as the light-headedness from hyperventilating deprived her brain with enough oxygen to function. She leaned heavily against the tile wall as she forced herself to take deep, if not calming, breaths. Drowning in the shower would be frankly embarrassing._ No fainting, that isn't allowed._ She told herself forcefully. _Just one step at a time..._ After a moment of coaxing herself she turned her attention to getting clean.

Several minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom with her own clothes on, towel drying her hair. Her neck was no longer soar but she continued to try to stretch it as best she could, afraid it would tighten up again when she cooled down. She was carefully looking for any chance of escape that wasn't through the solid door.

"There must be some sort of law against this..." she growled to herself as she glared at the door with her silver eyed gaze. She took a comb out of her back pocket and plopped down on the bed with her long hair over one shoulder and began working out the knots, her eyes slightly glazed with thoughtfulness. She braided it while it was still wet and flipped it back over her shoulder when she had finished, bored with it. She was fiddling with the comb as she stared at the door when an idea came to her.

She was on her feet and at the door before she could hesitate. If she hesitated, she would panic.

The comb slid perfectly in between the door and the frame. She slid it down and it caught on the latch. With some effort she managed to wedge the comb in the right position to pry the latch from the frame. With a twist of the wrist the door was open and she stepped out to find herself in an empty hallway. Looking either direction she stuffed the comb into her back pocket again and decided to go left, her feet where soft on the tiled ground and made minimal sound. She silently thanked her father for the skill he had taught her when she was young and all the practice she'd gotten recently.

She covered depressingly little ground before two men, guns raised, stepped around the corner. She turned, ready to make a run for it in the other direction, only to be faced with two more armed men. She slowly, grudgingly, raised her hands in the air in a show of defeat. She glared daggers as one of the men lowered his gun and walked towards her but did not fight it when he dragged her arms behind her back and bound her by the wrists with a zip tie. She silently cursed him for not using metal cuffs. They were far simpler to get out of.

She was surprised when he grabbed her by the upper arm and steered her away from her cell. She somehow got the feeling that they had been waiting for her to get out. The guards led her through a maze of hallways and to an elevator.

Once they were inside the door couldn't close fast enough.

Ary lashed out with a vicious kick that brought one of the men to the ground, pinning another of his team mates in a corner. She wrenched her arm out of the grip of the soldier that had her and brought her knee up between his legs making him keel over with a high pinched groan. She brought her leg up and smashed her heel into the jaw of the only unhindered guard, knocking him out cold. She turned and squatted low to grab a knife from one of the downed guards and carelessly twisted it to cut her bonds.

She raised the blade at the first two guards she had put in a corner as they finally recovered. They didn't dare use their guns in the enclosed, metal space. They remained perfectly still, the only sound in the small, rising box was the soft ding of the elevator as it passed floors. When the doors began to open Ary turned sharply and hid the knife against the inside of her wrist and stepped out boldly, staying right where she was so the soldiers didn't step out with her.

Once the doors had slid shut she carefully took in her surroundings and saw nothing but a plain looking office building's hallway. Plaques were on the wall next to each door, she glanced over the names and knew she would remember everything she saw in exact detail. Photographic memory was something she thought of as a curse and a blessing mixed into one.

She made her way down the hall on silent feet. She was roughly halfway down the hall when a door opened and a woman stepped out. Ary took her in with a glance before meeting the woman's dark eyes. She was sucking on a peppermint as she looked at the teen before her.

"Coming Miss Normith?" she asked coolly. Ary knew from her tone that the woman was aware of her weapon so allowed her wrist to relax and the blade came into plain sight.

"Who are you?" Ary demanded without moving.

"My name is Mrs. Jones. Many of your questions will be answered very shortly, please come into my office." she said easily before stepping back into her office and leaving the door open. Ary considered her options briefly before moving forward, her curiosity getting the better of her. And she didn't want to come across those soldiers again.

Ary took in the small office as she entered, wary of another attack. She gripped her stolen knife with a slightly shaking hand. Her nerves were running high and she had no idea what to expect from these people. Before she could follow that train of thought any further she pushed it away and focused on the present.

Mrs. Jones had taken her seat behind the desk that took up most of the small room. The walls were painted a neutral, off-white, the ceiling tiles were also white. The floor was a rough, tan color. A filing cabinet stood in the far right corner from the doorway, a fake potted plant opposite. Two uncomfortable chairs were placed in front of the desk. Mrs Jones indicated with a hand gesture that she was to sit.

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**So while i was editting this chapter a thought struck me... out of curiosity, how would you pronounce 'Ary'? (you should hit that review button and put your answer in a review ;)**


	3. Chapter 2 pt2

**So... really there is no excuse... except my crazy boss lady who cannot tell me til the last second that I'm working three hours earlier than she told me.... and why could I not post it on Sunday? Well... I'm lazy that way...*shame...* Then school and after school stuffs... But please read this overdue chapter 2 part 2 and tell me what you think!**

**Midnighter's Dream-Xx: that is, in fact, how it's intended to be read, Ary is actually the last name of a friend of mine that we all call Mary because his first name starts with an M, 'tis all in good fun. Thank you for reviewing and answering to my curiosity! Thank you also to Baldy911 and Itssostrangehere for their reviews of chapter one.**

Ary sat down on the edge of the chair, the knife remained ready in her fist. She did _not_ like the way things had gone so far and had no problems showing her displeasure. Her shoulders were tense, her legs positioned so she could leap up at a moments notice.

"Why am I here?" she asked sharply, her tone as controlled as it could be under the circumstances.

"For your protection. We thought that having you watched would be sufficient but seeing as you broke the arm of a high level assassin... well his company is not very happy at all,-"

"Why was I being watched in the first place?" Ary asked, she would return to the assassin thing later, she had been wondering about her shadows for weeks. Mrs. Jones leveled a look at Ary that would be called a scowl on a person with less of an expressionless mask.

"In good time Miss Normith. This company has decided that you cannot be aloud to go unpunished for your actions against their agent. While we have been pushing for negotiations, they seem rather un-inclined to deal with us as you do not work for us though your parents did." Mrs Jones said dropping her first big bit of information. Ary was clearly taken aback by this statement and it took her a long moment to process. She held up a hand to stop Mrs Jones from moving on as she found her voice.

"So... Who exactly are you?" Ary said before realizing how Mrs Jones might interpret that statement, "I mean, as in this place that you've had me drugged and dragged off to." she waved a hand vaguely o the room.

"This is the London headquarters of MI6." Mrs Jones said simply, no expression on her dark features. With this statement recognition clicked in her mind. She had seen the office hallway once before in her life, before her parents died. Her mother had needed to stop by the office for an emergency and been forced to bring Ary as well since she had been called in while mother and daughter were at a near by park. Her mother had taken her too her office and told her to stay put and not mess with anything. Ary had been eight at the time. Curiosity ruled the better part of her thoughts and the warning made it even harder to resist. She managed to keep her mind occupied for all of ten seconds before sliding out of her seat and going to the closest drawer and opening it.

Inside she had found a multitude of colored paper organized in a pattern she picked up on quickly. Ary had flipped through several files before her attention wandered. She used her crystal clear memory to check that the files were in good order before closing the drawer and moving on to randomly forage through every available item. Her father had always drilled it into her to make sure everything was left exactly as she had found it and even at a young age she did so automatically.

By the time her mother had returned to collect her, Ary had looked over every inch of the office and from then on connected the image in her mind to her mother's workplace.

"So I am still in London. And my parents worked for you... and why should I even believe you right now?" Ary asked as she worked through the information. She knew it did all add up but she was far from feeling inclined to believe that MI6 were interested in protecting her. Especially with the circumstances under which she'd been brought here.

"Because you truly have no choice, we're legally your guardians and as such you are under our control until you come of age." Mrs Jones said laying out the next shock.

"Since when do I have any bloody guardians?" Ary demanded sharply, her manners quickly evaporating.

"Since the moment your parents were pronounced dead." Mrs Jones said without emotion and Ary felt the verbal slap sharply.

"No." she said simply and firmly, refusing to believe that the government controlled her completely.

"You have no choice in the matter Miss Normith. As your guardians we are obligated to ensure your safety. If that means taking the measures that we have been forced to then so be it." Mrs Jones said in return, careless of Ary's distress on the matter. Her last statement caught Ary's attention though and she carefully considered just clamming up and refusing to speak, despite the childishness of it. She chose to allow herself to become distracted from the subject of her status as orphan, stowing it to be thought over later.

"Measures?" she asked, silently praying that they weren't planning on keeping her locked away in that cell several stories bellow.

"Yes, you are going to be moved to a military camp. You will be well guarded and also learn how to protect yourself while you're there." Ary scowled at the last but did not comment "You're leaving today, after you see Mr Smithers." Mrs Jones said as way of dismissal. But Ary had other ideas.

"You didn't answer my question. Why was I being shadowed? You could have brought me in or just left me alone. Then I never would have gotten involved with that assassination attempt in the park." Ary said. Mrs Jones did not look up from the file she had opened when she dismissed Ary.

"You were being shadowed for several reasons. None of which you need to know at this moment." Mrs Jones said coolly. Ary glared openly at the top of the woman's head as she slowly rose. As she was about to turn and leave she hesitated.

"Why me? Why not some other homeless orphan off the street?" she asked.

"You will prove useful to us with some training and you fit the profile. You could become even better than your parents before you if you cooperate. There is an agent outside to show you down to Mr Smithers'. And Ary? Do try not to hospitalize anymore of our agents, you're not even official and you're getting a reputation." Mrs Jones said as Ary went to open the door. She was slightly surprised to hear the slight amusement in the older woman's voice.

As she opened the door to be greeted by a familiar face she decided that Mrs Jones just wanted to keep Ary wary of her.

Ary was only somewhat surprised by the appearance of the dark eyed man she had saved. As she turned to close the door behind her she came to the decision to treat him in kind to the way she had been treated and blatantly ignored him as she turned and began down the hallway. She heard him follow as she went to the elevator.

The door opened immediately and she stepped into it, her foot resting gently over the small crack between the doors, testing the elevator without it being obvious. A habit since she was a child and had been told a horror story where a man had fallen down an elevator shaft. She had refused to ride an elevator for two months.

The man stepped in next to her and pressed a floor number. She gave him the cold shoulder, looking strait ahead for the duration of their ride. When the door opened she waited for him to exit and lead her to where ever she was meant to go to meet this Smithers guy. She took her opportunity to look over her dark eyed kidnapper.

He stood a good six feet tall, his brown hair was cut in a short, clean style though Ary had noticed he had neglected to shave for a time. He had the body of an athlete and the easy gait of a trained fighter. All of this was toned down by the fact that he was wearing black pants and blazer, his button up shirt was a steely color.

She averted her gaze before he would notice and probably make some comment. She decided he couldn't be more than twenty five years old and wondered how he had ended up with a job at MI6 at such a young age. Then decided she didn't really care.

He came to a halt at the door to an office and knocked sharply.

"Enter." A voice called through and the man opened the door for her, waiting for her to enter before him. She did so cautiously and scanned the office that looked just as plain as Mrs Jones. Her gaze halted on the large man before her. His face lit up when he saw her and she felt her shoulders relax slightly at the sign of kindness.

"Ah, our newest member! A pleasure to meet you my dear." he said in such a cheery voice that Ary couldn't help but smile in return.

"Pleasure is all mine Mr Smithers." she said with more kindness than she had yet spoken.

"I'll be outside when you have finished with her Mr Smithers." Ary's 'escort' said with the proper amount of respect be for stepping outside.

"Very well, let me show you what you'll be equipped with for your little trip." Smithers said. It was spoken in such a way that it did nothing to ruin her kindly impression of the large man. He pulled out a plastic tray from the other side of his desk and when he set it before her Ary's curiosity broke any barriers that remained.

"An iTouch?" she asked with some humor. She had to force herself not to reach out and pick up the items.

"Not just a iTouch. This is not any toy, none of these are. Allow me to explain." Smithers said and picked up the iTouch and turned it on before turning it so the screen was facing her. She leaned on the desk so she could get a better look at it. She had gotten her hands on a iTouch of her friend's on occasion and knew how they worked. "Now, this iTouch will play music, video, allow you to play games, eavesdrop on conversations, see thermally through walls, has a light sleeping gas et cetera. All the normal 'apps' are available to anyone to view as you can see." he said as he flipped through several pages of applications. "To get to the more interesting uses however, you enter the 'iRead' application and simply place your thumb, either one, in the center of the screen for five seconds and they will show up in a similar format to that of the normal apps." He explained and handed the iTouch to Ary. It was already open to a random page in a book on the iRead app and she pressed her right thumb to the middle of the screen. The book page shrunk away and a new list of apps appeared that had several interesting names. Ary felt a humored smile passing over her lips.

"This is a rather plain laptop. The higher ups want you to stay on top of school work while you're with the SAS. Both The laptop and the iTouch have the ability to contact us directly in case of an emergency." Smithers said as he laid out a sleek black computer in front of Ary who ran her fingers over it once before her attention was caught by something red.

"A yo-yo!" she squealed with delight at the sight of one of her favorite toys and Smithers burst into laughter at the look on the teens face as he handed her the yo-yo. With the silly grin still on her face she stepped away from the desk and let the small toy fall towards the ground before jerking it back up. She performed several tricks before relenting and returning it to Smithers so he could unlock it's secrets for her.

"You're quiet good." he complimented her with a genuine smile.

"My father taught me." Ary replied with some sadness creeping into her tone.

"He was a good man, very intelligent and a great sense of humor." Smithers told her, his eyes assessing her reaction. Ary shrugged and turned her attention to the yo-yo in Smithers' hand.

"So whats the secret behind this one?" she asked him, refusing to react to the comment about her father though many questions burned to be asked. Smithers allowed the subject to rest and also turned his attention to the yo-yo.

"This is a gadget that one of our younger agents found quiet handy several years back. It's been modified of course." as he spoke he ran his finger around one edge of the yo-yo twice before the side twisted away like a cap. He turned it so she could see the gears moving inside. "This is wonderful scaffolding rope. The string is capable of holding 300 pounds. You simply attach one end to your person and the other to any metal surface, twist it once and up or down you go. Good for when you need to disappear over an edge quickly."

Smithers handed the yo-yo back to the girl who proceeded to play with it absently. "Mr Smithers... could I ask you something, before I get shipped off?" she asked him hesitantly.

"What is your question my dear?" he asked in return.

"Did my parents really die in an accident?" she asked him, her eyes sharp.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you Miss Normith." Smithers said, his eyes meeting hers squarely, a warning not to question further. Ary had her answer but now she had another question. She knew she had to let it go however or chance getting her only possible ally in trouble. Instead she nodded and collected the laptop and iTouch, stuffing the iTouch in her jeans pocket along with a pair of plain earphones.

She had turned to go out the door when it opened. Ary was no longer surprised by the sudden appearances but the man that entered did surprise her. He was dressed casually in a black button up shirt and dark jeans, running shoes on his feet. He had an athletic build, his eyes were a charming brown, his hair a dirty blond color. He was very handsome but Ary's attention was caught on his eyes. Though they were kind enough when he first walked in, when they landed on her they darkened with hostility, and something else, like the person they belonged to was haunted by horrible things. He couldn't be more than in his late twenties.

"I can come back later Smithers." the man said, his voice displayed nothing but slight boredom with what was going on.

"No, no, that's quiet alright agent, we were just finishing up this." Smithers said and the man stepped out of the doorway. Ary looked behind her to Smithers, "Be careful." he told her only and Ary nodded to him in farewell before leaving past the older man.

Her escort was waiting outside the door indifferently and when he saw her he turned and led her down the hallway and into the elevator.

**In your wonderful reviews could you guys throw out some ideas for the name of Ary's dark eyed escort? He will need one eventually... Again, sorry for taking forever to update and this is not edited very well so please forgive me! Since it's now holiday break there should be faster updating.**


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